Well, things are progressing right along. Not with the story; no, that’s another . . . story. No, I’m gearing up for a bit of a move to a place I’ll be calling The Undisclosed Location. I’m hoping this is going to be something temporary, but who knows? As my muse always says, “That’s the thing about life, you never know what it’s bringing you tomorrow.”
I’ve never been one for facing my fears, and it’s done more than a little to hold me back throughout life. That’s something that’s been with me since I was a kid, and I’ve done little to get past it since. Oh, I’m getting better, but still: there’s a hell of a lot of room for improvement.
My writing is one area where there’s improvement. The output in the last five months has been very good. Oh, sure, I know there are writers out there doing a half a million words a year: I’ve seen their posts on the NaNo groups on Facebook. I’ve also seen a lot of “Help! My novel is a mess and I need a good editor!” I think what you mean is you need a good re-write, ’cause before you can get a good revised draft on that sucker, you need to get it a tiny bit cleaner.
The one good thing about being involved in NaNo is that I’ve meet some wonderful writers. People who struggle; people who have a good idea about what they’re doing; people who are almost “there”; people who have even “made it”. I’ve had similar experiences with the group of erotica writers I hang with as well. It’s a good time to hear from people who are sort of just like you, who face the same issues you’re facing.
It’s a struggle, this writing thing, always doing your thing alone, having to come up with ideas, working out how the story will run, getting all those crazy words to make sense. And the scenes! Right now, for my current story, Couples Dance, I’ve gone thought a scene with my main characters doing it on the table in the breakfast nook, and now . . . yeah, now I gotta push the envelope and take it to a place that I know is going to turn off a few people, but at the same time, it’s gotta be there. It’s gotta happen because, as I see it in the story, it’s a progression that will take the characters to the next level.
Seriously, for them, it is a point of no return. And in the end it’ll change them completely.
There is a point of no return coming for me–probably several, if I give it a lot of thought. I’ve already stated to some people, and stated it quite clearly, that my current profession, Information Technology, is a dead end, and I’m going to put it behind him as quickly as possible. I’ve had others tell me that my writing is good, they enjoy the stories . . . so when I keep hearing this, I know I need to push in that direction. This is really want I want in my life; to be honest it’s what I’ve wanted for a very long time.
So even with my current push to my Undisclosed Location, I have my other plans. I’m mapping; I’m planing. I’m trying to make this real.
As for my other Rubicons? I’ll reach them in time. And when I do, I’ll test the waters–
Perhaps I’ll even look for a shallow spot to ford.
